WATER QUALITY MONITORING WORK GROUP

Purpose

Facilitate improved collection, coordination, management, and interpretation of water quality data for the Long Island Sound Study. This will encompass both open and near-shore water quality data needs.

Work Group Members

Chair

James Ammerman, PhD, New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission/ Science Coordinator, Long Island Sound Study

Members

Brett Branco, PhD, Brooklyn College

Charles DeQuillfeldt, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

Jamie Vaudrey, PhD, University of Connecticut, Department of Marine Sciences

Others to be added

2016 Tasks (progress to date in parentheses)

Work with the STAC to identify, investigate and apply 1) alternative endpoint data (including eelgrass) and 2) tools to expand nitrogen management. (Will be collaborating with the Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan on alternative endpoints which can also be used in the EPA Nitrogen Reduction Strategy for LIS.)

Work with STAC and Ad hoc Modeling workgroup to develop proposal for next generation hypoxia & eutrophication modeling. ($2M NOAA Coastal Hypoxia Research Program [CHRP] proposal for FVCOM model development and field sampling submitted in early February.)

Explore options for centralized data access, system maintenance, retrieval, archival and level of public engagement options. (CT DEEP and the Interstate Environmental Commission [IEC] have agreed to combine their data and annual hypoxia reports.)